Customer Reviews

EarMaster 5

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I love this software. I'm a pretty crappy guitarist who decided to go back to the basics and learn some music theory (which I'm doing via the "absolutely understand guitar" DVD set by Scotty West -- I recommend that product as well -- the presenter has a tendency to ramble and excessively repeat himself but ultimately the material is solid and a lot of things are starting to click so it was worth hanging in there). Anyway, this software is a perfect complement to your music theory studies. I think that unless you're just lucky to be born with a natural talent, you're going to need some dictation of intervals, chords, scales, and rhythm to atune your ear to how they sound. Playing it on your own instrument isn't as effective because you can't help using your eyes and fingers as a crutch. With this software, you have nothing but your ears to find the answer.

Some small nits to pick, which I'm writing here hoping that emedia will read this and include in its next upgrade: (1) the sounds are pretty crappy and hardly like the instruments they're supposed to represent. I'd rather get a choice of three instruments (say, piano, violin and steel string acoustic guitar) that sound realistic than 60+ crappy MIDI ones. (2) I wish an exercise were included that helps you train absolute pitch. For this, I think the Deburgh method is good. It starts by playing two notes (Eb and F#) and you have to listen in to the character of each and once you can distinguish them you progress to other/additional notes. (3) Another thing that I would find extremely useful is if the scale identification (which is what I'm working on now) could be expanded beyond ascending/descending. My hunch is that a program could be written to pick out notes from a scale in a sequence that still sounds relatively musical (following some musical rules). Or alternatively, plenty of examples (a couple of hundred, so you can't rely on memory) could be stored of existing music pieces in those scales. Ultimately, I would like to be able to hear something on the radio and be able to pick up by the character of the music that it's in this or that scale/mode (even if I can't tell the pitch) and the included exercise (just ascending/descending) is a bit too easy.

I originally posted this review for EarMaster and not EarMaster Pro. I have the Pro version so I am adding the same review here.

I like the flexibility of this training software -- the ability to create my own exercises. I use the Tutor to narrow down issues and then construct my own exercises to further focus drills. Of the software I tried this one also has a fairly complete results report. I think this is important because it allows you to overcome your own sense of where weaknesses are when your own sense is incorrect.

The only issue I've found is with some of the rhythm drills that depend on the platform on which the software is running to be properly responsive. I find the responsiveness too unpredictable and therefor some of the drills like the rhythm imitation less useful. I do not think this is the fault of EM 5 or any other training software that tries to drill rhythmic input. It's more a platform issue.

Another very positive thing about this software is that I have found the Support to be outstanding. I've received responses to every single question or comment I've made within a day (I'm in the Pacific Coast USA timezone and they are in Denmark) even before I purchased it.

Well worth it.

I think it says something that Apple sells this music software at their San Francisco Apple store. That indicates EarMaster Pro has gone through some serious vetting, as Apple does not sell junk. Apple's shelf space for selling software is small.

Except for those days when there isn't enough time or I'm too busy, I use the EarMaster Pro software every day for about a half hour. I've been using Ear Master Pro for about four months and am nearly half way through the exercises. EarMaster Pro has an online forum which has been helpful and responsive when I've had questions.

In a good way, I have found the EarMaster Pro exercises beyond the starting "easy" ones to be brutally hard. I consider EarMaster Pro to be a program for music majors or for serious musical hobbyists such as myself who are highly motivated and have a strong background in musical harmony and musical theory. The more advanced exercises are so subtle that I ended up (with the help of someone on the Ear Master Pro forum) installing some additional "open source " software on my PC so that the musical tones of the chords generated by Ear Master Pro are easier to hear. For example, hearing the minor seventh of a four note V chord versus a V chord triad can be difficult if the tones are generated by the mediocre tone generator that comes standard on a WinXP computer. (EarMaster Pro works on both MAC and Windows).

If you (like myself) are a jazz pianist wanna-be, then Ear Master Pro is definitely a good purchase for you. You will most likely conclude, as I did, that first you have to go through Ear Master Pro's entire classical training program and only then tackle the (even more) difficult jazz exercises.

The flexibility of this product is fantastic when learning to recognize intervals, chord qualities and inversions. However, when it comes to using the dictation portion, be it rhythm or melodic, it is a challenge. I am using only a computer and not a keyboard attached so perhaps it is better with that. It is difficult to toggle between the duration of the note and the place to put it. If you place the note in the wrong spot, you have to start all over again. For someone learning to dictate melodies, a pen a paper might be a better way to go than to fight with the program.

This is a great software. I used it on trial and loved it. However, I checked with the developers and they told me that they will be coming out with a new version around the end of 2011, and to upgrade to the next version, you will have to buy the upgrade version of the software. That is ok, if you bought the software in 2005, but I would be disappointed if I bought the software now, and need to pay $35 to have it upgraded to the next version in a couple of months.

So, do wait a few months for the next version if you don't want to be disappointed.

Added on 17 Mar 2011:

In response to my review, EarMaster has lowered their version upgrade fee (for upgrading lower versions to EarMaster Pro 5) to $29.99 instead of $35. They also told me that it is their aim to keep the upgrade fee as low as possible.

Man it is amazing the software learning tools that are available now. Back in the day, if you wanted to practice ear training, you needed a VERY patient friend to play chords, intervals, etc., for you. And that friend would tire of such boredom rather quickly! Now, with EarMaster, you can relegate that thankless task to a computer. Which, as we know, NEVER gets tired - LOL!

This software allows you to train interval comparison, interval identification, interval singing, chord identification, chord inversions, chord progressions, scale identification, rhythm reading, rhythm imitation, rhythm dictation, rhythm correction and melodic dictation. Whew! It comes with a built in lesson plan, but you can also tweak the above exercises to make them as easy or as difficult as you want. I prefer to do the individual exercises, with my own settings, and really easy ones at that. I think that the depth of this program will literally keep me busy for years. There is a LOT of room for tweaking the individual exercises to make them more complex. Just the scale recognition drill contains 31 built-in scales, plus room for about 80 more user-defined scales. !!!!! You can combine any number of the scales for your quiz. For an easy quiz, you could just choose major and natural minor scales and quiz those. Or maybe you want to be able to tell Lydian Mode from Ionian Mode (major scale). You can set for that. Or Dorian and Natural Minor and Harmonic Minor and Jazz minor. Whatever - :-P.

I have been using this program for just 2 days now, and I see a marked improvement in my results. Oh yeah, you can pull up statistics for the exercise that you are working on, and they will tell you your percent of correct recognitions for each chord, interval, or whatever it is that you are quizzing on - thereby pointing out your trouble areas. Amazing!

Bottom line - if you are serious about training your ear - this is it man!

I'm a drummer and needed help with reading the music and fine tuning the timing. This is working great for that. I've been using it for about a week now and can already notice a difference. I can't wait to start the cord identification so when our Praise and Worship leader turns around and says "Do a fill when you hear the E" I won't have to look at him with a blank look on my face. I'll be able to know it. I have already recommended this to the rest of the team.

I purchaswd this product for my grand daughter and she loves it and it is an easy one to use

The only reason I still have this is because my class requires it, otherwise it would be flying outside the window already!! I can't complain about the whole software because it actually works in melodic dictation etc.. IT IS THE RYTHM DICTATION THAT SUCKS!! If you are a musician or have been a while taking music classes and you know about rhythm dictation you will quickly notice that this software hast it messed up.

Let's set an example; you know to the very perfection how to beat a quarter note 120 bpm in 4/4, you do it correctly but the freaking software says it was a half note or an eight note. Now this might seem harmless but when your EXAMS are being taken with this software it really harms your grade. If it wasn't because of this I would love it. it works 99% but that 1% that doesn't is a really BIG 1% if your grades depends on it.

There isn't a better way to train your ear than EarMaster Pro 5. This program will turn your ears in tuners for any instrument. You will never be out of tune again!